Rake



May 4 1926.

C. S. REMY nAxE Filed Feb. 2s. 1924 y ticularly effective forv Patented May 4,1926.V

UNiTEDfsTATE-s (PATENT QZFFFQE# i nA-KE.

apncation mea February 23, 19242 seria; aussen/15.

T all 'whom t may concer/n.'

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPH-ER S. REAMY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of LosAngeles, county of Los Angeles, and State of California, have invented new vand useful Improvements in Rakes, of which the tion. I i

"I'his invention relates generally tov rakes and like implementsusedr for cultivating soil and raking gardens and lawns. While the rake of my invention may beused in many situations, as will be apparent to those into whose hands the implement comes, it is parcleari-ng lawns of noxious weeds such as Bermuda grass. This grass is in the lnature of a creeping, vine-like weed and 's not only unsightly in itself but also Achokes od the growth of lawn grassto such/an extent that entire lawns are'- It is extremely f difficult to rida lawn of this` weed for it` often ruined by its presence.

' hugs the ground so closely that the', ordinary l weed by resorting vtchand pulling or lawn mower passes over 'it without cutting it down, while its clinging tendency and 'its vine-'like growth renders it a most tedious and almost impossibletask to` removethe use of an ordinary lawn rake.`

I have devised a rake withblade-like tines, so, as the rake is drawn' lawn,the blades not' only catch under` and root out some of the weeds but also cut the Vweed strandsinto relatively short lengths,

so such lengths may be readily removed by subsequent raking with a usual'lawn rake. Such short lengthsv as still remain spring into vertical position, or are lifted by the rake blades into such position, whereupon they may be cut down by subsequent lawn mower operation.

I have also devised a rake construction whereby the degree of angularity between rake handle and tines may be varied at the will o'f the operator, thus-making it possible to hold the rake handle at the elevation most suited andv desirable to the operator and yet have the blades inclined'so they are best positioned with relation to the ground line and weeds to most effectively operate on said weeds.l This featurey of ladjustability may be applied, of course, with equal advantage to rakes of usual constructin. Y

I have also provided my rake with removing number and following is a specifica y novelty; is shown as theV over a wee'djinfested` rooted,

longitudinally slide vand characteristics may be supported by a single rake bar. Furthermore, I jprovide means for shifting and then xing the blades laterally' along the supporting bar -in order to vary thefrelative coarseness of the rake. he rake is of sturdy construction, isoapable of being quickly and-easily assembled, and offers many other advantages over the usual rake that will be` immediately apparent to those accustomed to use this class ofimplement. A better understanding of will be had `from the following detailedl de- Figure 1 is a side elevation showing an embodiment of the invention wherein the lstructure including certainy of the features of removably .attached to an'ordinarylawn rake. l c f 'Fig 2 is an enlargedfragmentary; elevation ofy vFigure 1 asyviewed from Vthe `position indicated by arrow2.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sect'on Figure 2. Y

on line 3.-3V of the rake, its objects and features of novelty,

Fig. tis averticalsection Online Vof Fig,- 5 is aperspectivefview of a clamping washer used in connection with the device.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modified embodinient of the invention wherein the novel features are applied to a digging tool or implement.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of Figure 6, parts being showniin section. Fig. 8 isa section on linel l In Figure 1,.the numeral l0 'indicatesfan ordinary rake H tine structure 12 joined by the socketed'stock 13. The tine structure is made up of cross member 14 and tines l5, the latter extending at substantially right angles with the axis of handle 11. I employ cross member 14: as the supporting element for the removable blade structure generally indicated at 16.

A cross bar 17, preferably of polygonal cross section, extends through round apertures 18 in supporting brackets 19 which are adapted to be removably clamped to memberl 1/1 by set screws 20. rlhe diameters of apertures 18 are. such that square rods 17 may freely therethrough and rotate therein. Y

Alternately .arranged on rod 17 are the ege of Figure 7.

consisting of a handle 1I .and u i blades 21,prefe`rably Vsharpened along their forward edges 22 and of any desired configuration, and spacers 23. 'On rod 17 and immediatelyadjacent brackets 19 are the clampingY washers 24, the blades 21 and washers 2li being provided with square apertures 25 and 26, respectively, whereby said blades and washers are slidably but non-` rotatably mounted on rod 17. Of course,

other suitable means may be provided forY 1 keying the blades and washers to the rod,

but the illustrated mounting is preferable by reason of its simplicity and cheapness of manufacture and the absence of projecting keys which might interfere with the movement of the rods through bracket aper- Y tures 18.

It is apparent that by taking up nuts 27, Vwhich are threaded on vthe ends of rod 17,

washers 24 will frictionally engage brackets f 19 and thereby hold the rod and its associated blades against rotation. The terminal spacers 28 and terminal. blades 29 are thrust swinging one of the blades, and then again' takingup the nut to fix the bar and'blades in adjusted position. The movement of all the blades during such adjustment is,of

. course, simultaneous.

By utilizing spacers of different lengths to vary the distance between adjacent blades, the relative coarseness of the rake may be varied to suit the needs and desires of the opera-tor in performing a give task. By the arrangement above described, my improvement may be used as an attachment for ordinary lawn rakes, thus materially reducing the cost over that which would be incurred were two rakes of such dissimilar characteristics to be employed, it being apparent from consideration of Figure 1 that the rake may be turned top for bottom when it is desired to change from one type of rake to y the other.

brackets 19, respectively. Blades 21, spacers 23'", washers 24a and nuts 27a are similar to and cooperate in the same manner as doblades 21, spacers 23, washersg24 and nuts 27, respectively.

It will be noted that nuts 27 are preferably undercut at 27 so as to insure bearing engagement between said nuts and the outermost blades 21, even though' the square portion of rod 17 extends a limited distance beyond the outer face of the `outermost' blade.

lVhile I have shown and described certain ei'nbodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereto, except for such limitations as a fair interpretation of the appended claim may import.

I claim:

In a rake, a handle, spaced supporting brackets thereon with sidel friction surfaces, a bar extending through and rotatable in the brackets, a spacer around the bar between the brackets, washers keyed on the bar and bearing against said side friction'surfaces, `alternating spacers and tines on the bar, the tines being keyed to the bar,r the ends of the bar being threaded, and nuts on the bar ends to compress between them the tines, brackets, spacers and washers, compressing the washers against the friction surfaces of the brackets to hold the washers and rod and tines frictionally against rotation.

VIn witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 11 day of February 1924.

onnrsrornna s. RnAMr., 

